The Shetland's Roots

If you look closley at a large map, you may spot the Shetland Islands off the northeast coast of Scotland. This archipelago of over 100 islands lies where the North Sea becomes the North Atlantic, with the Norwegian Sea spreading to the northeast.

Scandinavian rulers lay claim to the Shetland Islands for centuries. In 1469, the isles were part of the dowry offered by Christian I, the Dano-Norwegian King, in the marriage of his daughter, Margaret, to James III of Scotland.

Much of the isles' coast line is barren and rocky. There are many places where the sea reaches well into the land. The interior is devoid of trees but covered with a thick layer of peat, tussock grass, scrub vegetation, and wild flowers. Small lakes abound as do boggy, water-logged areas. The soil is poor.

How sheep came and thrived on these jagged isles can only be guessed.

Sightings of wild sheep on the islands date as far back as 700 A.D. Toward the end of the first millennia, Vikings likely brought animals to their outposts on Wetland—an early name for the islands. The Vikings eventually left their settlements and animals. The abandoned sheep may have mated with the wild sheep. Tough conditions on the isles bred tough sheep. The meager grazing pushed the sheep to survive on low levels of nutrition. The northerly, windswept isles pushed the sheep to withstand harsh weather. On their own for centuries, a hardy breed of sheep developed.

Nearly Extinct

From the 1400's through the early 1900's, the hardy people who inhabited the Shetland Isles carried a reputation of being superb fisherman. It was primarily through the sea that the people made a living. Over time, the value of the Shetland sheep emerged. In years when the fishing was poor, the people always had the sheep. Eventually it became widely known that of all the breeds in English realm, sheep from the Shetland Islands produced the finest wools.

But Shetland sheep are small. By the 1800's, pressure arose to produce bigger sheep. More meat and heavier fleeces were what buyers demanded. This demand led to experiments in interbreeding Shetlands with sheep imported to the Shetland Islands. Over time, the results were nearly disastrous. While breeders did profit from having a meatier sheep to sell, the quality of the fleece became poorer.

The numbers of native, purebred Shetland sheep dwindled. In addition, as the 20th century progressed, the people—especially the women—of the Shetland Islands no longer needed the Shetland sheep to survive. People had more choices in making a living.

In 1927 a group of Shetland Islanders, alarmed by this possible loss of their heritage, organized to salvage what purebred sheep were left. The Shetland Flock Book Society (now called The Shetland Breeders Group or SSGB) helped to keep purebred flocks intact. For decades, the numbers of Shetland sheep remained small. Conservation groups, concerned about the loss and possible extinction of distinct animal breeds, helped to revive interest in Shetland sheep.

Coming To America!

In 1980, a small flock of shetland sheep were imported into Canada from the Shetland Islands. After five years of quarantine, Shetland Sheep were allowed to enter the United States. The North American Shetland Sheep Association was then formed, and Shetland sheep have since enjoyed popularity and continued growth.

According to some sources, Shetland sheep may have first come to the North America in the early 1800's. Some say that Thomas Jefferson raised Shetlands at Monticello.

Until 1985, Shetland sheep were on the “endangered” list of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in Great Britain, where today they remain listed as a “minority breed”. Just recently, in January of 2000, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy removed Shetlands from “watch status” in their Conservation Priority list, and reclassified them as “recovering, but still in need of monitoring”.